Risk & Vulnerability Atlas Home Page

The South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas
(R&VA) directly supports the access to and visualization of data dealing with
the impacts of global change on human and natural environments.

Funded by the
Department of Science and Technology
(DST), it is based on a shared platform that also hosts
SAEON and
SAEOS, amongst others, providing access to a large collection of scientific data
and knowledge in and about South Africa, in addition to the basic Atlas data
sets.

Global change is set to impact many
sectors of South African society. Decision-makers in these sectors need
information, in order to make timely decisions.

The SARVA project is currently implemented by the CSIR, with key inputs from South
African institutions and research groups (see specific theme pages). In 2008, the DST adopted a Ten-Year
Innovation Plan aimed at propelling the country towards a knowledge economy. The
Ten-Year Plan is underpinned by five grand challenges, one of which is Science
and Technology for Global Change. The South
African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (SARVA) has its origin in this Global
Change grand challenge.

The DST is currently establishing a Bureau on Global
Change Science that will include the South African Environmental Observation
Network (SAEON), Africa Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS),
Africa Earth Observatory Network (AEON), the South African National Space Agency
as well the Atlas. The Bureau will act as a high-level knowledge broker between
researchers and policy-makers in parliament.